Council of Oligarchs
These are the interpreters of the Haslanti League’s laws, and functions as the high court for all the districts, towns and tribes of the Haslanti. Many outsiders mistake the Council as an executive body, since the military is under its control in times of war. Yet, its duty is merely to record and interpret the laws of the League. Consensus is supposed to drive the decisions of the Council, leading to a degree of deadlock in debates. To be an Oligarch candidate, one must: * be over 45 years * be native-born to the League * have served as an arbitrator in a minimum of 10 disputes - each worth at least one talent of silver * be nominated by their home district to a council seat and elected by acclaim at the relevant assemblies. Oligarchs serve for 18 years or until they retire. No Oligarch may serve a second terms. The number of Oligarchs from the city-states is based on population. Icehome and Ironfall have two seats, while the other seven each hold one. In addition to these representatives, one more Oligarch is assigned as the Council President - choesn from a list of seven nominees submitted to a meeting of Dreamseers who gather at Twisted Stone. The Dreamseers give the names to the gods, who then select the President of the Council. Few mortals know these "gods" are a conclave of Lunar Exalted, the Haslanti Ennead and a number of totem animal avatars. The Council is divided between three faction called the Deft Hands, the Landless Party, and the Profitable Men. The Deft Hands This faction stands for community and collective responsibility and the nurturing of peace within the League. * Ivory Smile is the current President of the Council and leader of the Deft Hands. An elderly woman of 86 with bright, black eyes shining from a wrinkled brown face framed by straight dark hair, she smells of seal meat and cinnamon. Chosen two years ago after her own people rejected her, her policy has been to avoid war with the outside world while persuading rich League landholders to share their wealth with the descendants of the Wyldfog Wars refugees. A cunning judge of character and a strong mediator, many on the Council wish she were gone... * Yidigal '''was elected from Fort Bear on the strength of his working-class origins. His salt-thickened hands and numerous scars mark him as a former whaler and walrus hunter. * '''Magada, a woman in her 50s with one blind eye and a withered hand, is a Dreamseer from the iceholts of Shield. She regards Yidigal '''as a personal friend for his positions on the rights of roving fisherfolk. She nominated '''Ivory Smile to the Twelfth Seat. * Glittering Pyrite is from Ironfall, a rough-hewn man with a bald pate and a stubbled chin. Elected eight years ago on the strength of a miners’ strike. He is in awe of Ivory Smile and follows her lead in most matters. * Huredath represents Fair Isle, where he was a prosperous salt-fish merchant. Despite his upper-class background, he believes that only the division of wealth can prevent the collapse of Haslanti society. To that end, he brought a number of landless families in as shareholders in his business. In his late 40s, he smiles often and has lost considerable weight since he gave up most of his fortune. * Snowy Elk comes from the Outwall near Tuskstad. A young-looking 45, he has short black hair, dark skin and blue eyes. Having lost a leg in a mammoth hunt, he was nominated by his tribe to join the council. Though he publicly supports the Deft Hands, he occasionally votes with the Profitable Men or the Landless Party (he does not support their views, but is somewhat weak-minded and easily persuaded by honeyed words and strong drink). * Leaping Doe; the junior Oligarch from Ironfall. In her early 70s, she finds Snowy Elk’s weakness exasperating and berates him regularly for siding with the Profitable Men. Landless Party This group believes the League should go to war with the icewalker and Tear Eater tribes — as well as the Haslanti’s cousins, the Haslanesh — in order to secure new farming and hunting grounds. * Greya Thold, age 46, represents Crystal, where the refugee problem is most severe, and leads the Landless Party. Her glittering eyes miss little, and while her short hair and lean face are not attractive, she has a soft and persuasive voice. She wants the League to turn its military forces on the Tear Eater tribes and clear land to the East for the landless Haslanti to settle. * Ilgadai Fraljofsdotter comes from Windcreche. In her late 50s, she has a lean, hard face and long blond hair streaked with gray. From her perspective, war for expansion suits the League. It would solve the incursions of Gethamane, warn the Bull of the North not to trifle with the Haslanti and push back the Tear Eaters in the East. When the reports of Elias Tremalion make her courage falter, she votes with the Deft Hands. * Silvered Antler comes from Icehome’s Outwall district. About 50, she has the same skin and hair as Ivory Smile, but her eyes are green, betraying a greenfield ancestor in her past. She subscribes to the Landless Party’s position and, alone of the present Oligarchs, has actually fought the Tear Eaters in battle. The Profitable Men Sitting between the other two, this faction seek a broader role for individuals seeking to accumulate wealth and build a more civilized society in the North. Until recently, the Profitable Men stood against war, but changes in Council membership have shifted the balance of power. * Jurgan Einersson represents Icehome. A successful merchant, he was elected 10 years ago. The leader of the Profitable Men is trying to make sure the rich stay rich and the League stays out of war. He dislikes Ivory Smile, but fears Greya Thold’s fanaticism even more. He has pale skin and thin, balding hair. * Shimmering Snowflake represents Diamond Hearth, and everyone knows her uncle bought the election for her. A widow four times, she is one of the wealthiest women in the North and votes mostly with the Profitable Men but sometimes with the Landless Party. Barely past the age requirement for the council, she is fair-haired and cruel, and her arbitrations have renewed the penalty of enslavement for debt on the Great Ice, which has brought huge profits to her family.